PROTESTANTS AND POLITICS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21363, 17 June 1931, Page 4

PROTESTANTS AND POLITICS

MEETING OF ASSOCIATION A meeting of the Protestant Political Association was held in the Early Settlers Hall last night, Mr S. G. Griffith occupying the chair. There was a large attendance of supporters of the association, who listened with keen interest to the addresses of the speakers for the evening—the Rev. P, B. Fraser, the Rev. J. Pringle, and Mr F. W. Ashman, organiser of the associaIn introducing the speakers, the chairman said that at the present time there was nothing more necessary in the world in general, and in the Dominion in particular, than that the plenty that existed should be distributed to the advantage oi all, that fair play should be universally applied, and that, in matters political, even-handed justice should be extended to all sections of the community, in Uunedin, and, indeed, all over New Zealand, gentlemen of the cloth knew they wer Protestants and knew why they were Protestants; moreover, they were able to declare their reasons. Thus, as Protestants, supporters of the association should accord hearty support and more than silent sympathy to those who honoured themselves and the faith of their forefathers by occupying the pulpits of the churches. The Rev. J. Pringle said the watchword of the association was equal rights for all and special privileges for none. When any particular power was dominant in a country, the people had not the freedom to express their rights of citizenship, and it was altogether deplorable that under the British flag there should be any interference with these rights. lh speaker went on to remind his hearers of what had occurred m Malta some months ago, and mentioned that it was no tran gression of the canons ofChnstiancharity to take such action as they deemed neces sary to prevent any encroachment t>y a minority on the rights of the citizens. When the Republicans took office after the abdication of the King of Spam one of their first decrees was that the peop'e should have liberty of a relief to the citizens of a country where an outbreak of anti-clerical animus had been brewing for years. All .the wor d over Protestants claimed the inalienable right of every man to hold his conscienc frle before God. Fortunately Persecution had not the power to-day that Jt had m days gone by. There was undoubtedlj an attempt in New Zealand at the present time for the minority to dominate the majority, but the Protestants were not going to sleep and they were not going to allow their liberty to become circumscribed, nor the principles of fair pla> m the field of politics to be encroached UP Mr Ashmarl dealt principally with the exemption of the members of certain r - gious orders from the provisions of the Unemployment Act. The members these orders had no more right to exemp tion, he considered, than the members of any other religious organisation, andl the burden of the unemployment taxation should be borne equally by.every member of the community. Referring to politics. Mr Ashman declared that at the last general elections, the United P art received the block vote of the Roman Catholic community. , f The Rev. P. B. Fraser, supporting Mr Ashman’s remarks with, regard to thes up employment levy, stated that to a letter he had forwarded to the Mmister o Labour he had received a reply that mem bers of religious orders who were lorbiddea the possession of property, « W as students attending theological colleges and not in receipt of Balary or were exempt from payment of the levy. He had made further inquiries into the matter, but he could not get a square and straight answer regarding it, and he coum not understand why a list of spemal ex emptions was not available if tbe exemp tion was an honourable and straight forward thing. Mr Fraser went oni toi saj that somehow or another, by some jueth not easily understood, Roman Catholics were able, not only in. New Zealand, but in many other countries, to take public offices in numbers far out °f P r °P ortl ?° to their numerical strength. Moreover, he had reason to believe that owing to manipulation of political power, Roman Catholics had gained a far greater representation than they were entitled to in the present Government.